Zoo reveals sex of baby sloth six months after birth

Jack SilverBBC News, Channel Islands
News imageJersey Zoo A sloth hanging from a branch in a zoo enclosure, with a baby latched to its belly.Jersey Zoo
News imageJersey Zoo A baby sloth sticking its tongue out.Jersey Zoo

Jemma - a Linne's two-toed sloth - was born in January to mum Terry
One of Jemma's hair follicles was sent away to a lab in Germany for DNA testing

Six months might seem like a long time to wait to find out the sex of a baby, but when it comes to sloths things move slowly.

One of Jersey Zoo's sloths, Terry, gave birth in January but it has taken until late July to determine the baby's gender, as the zoo said it was "not easy" to sex sloths.

It sent a hair follicle to a lab in Germany for a DNA test and with the results back, the zoo has announced it is "pleased to reveal she is... a girl", and has been named Jemma.

The name was picked by some of the zoo's supporters, who chose a name "personal to them", the zoo said.

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